Understanding of the concept good in the context of the noosphere doctrine

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Kyiv National Linguistic University

Understanding of the concept GOOD in the context of the noosphere doctrine

Stefanova N.O., Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor,

Professor at the Department of English Philology

and Philosophy of Language

Abstract

The research is devoted to studying one of the most critical moral and ethical value categories - the concept GOOD, which manifests in the desire to perform good and valuable actions to harmonize relationships between people and nature. The study aims to understand this moral and ethical category not only in a constantly changing world but also under the influence of scientific thought, reason and the transition of civilization to a fundamentally new system - the noosphere. A system in which the task is set under the influence of scientific planetary thought to create a new type of person - a person of the noosphere: free, independent, on the one hand, and at the same time decent, virtuous, with stable moral virtues.

Etymological versions of the probable origin of the name of the concept GOOD are presented, namely I.-E. root *ghedh-, which had the primary meaning “to unite, to be united”, Proto-Germanic form *goda, which had the meaning “appropriate, worthy, suitable”, from which, in particular, Gothic g6|Ds “good” was formed. These related forms reflected a ritual in which the name of the God, who was addressed, was significant and which appeared in people's imagination at that time in the form of a ripe harvest as material gifts from him. The commented etymological transitions define the diachronic core, in which philosophical and religious concepts such as soul and spirit were formed due to their sacralization first in the mythological sphere and later in the monotheistic and Christian ones.

The article studies the semantic structure of the modern English-language lexical unit good, its specialization in philosophical, ethical and religious spheres, and the actualization of the moral and value component presented in explanatory lexicographic and terminological sources. The component analysis made it possible to identify the integral semes “moral” and “spiritual qualities”, “a certain standard”, “reason”, “ability”, “authority”, “skill”, and “real” with the arch-seme “moral and spiritual value”.

The implementation of the formation of the noosphere doctrine should be sought in the philosophical, religious and, above all, moral and ethical spheres. In those areas, the essential category is the concept GOOD. The fundamental components of noosphere doctrine - reason, scientific knowledge about the essence of things - can create a society dominated by dignity, harmony, good and prosperity.

Key words: semantic structure, value category Good, scientific knowledge, noosphere doctrine.

Анотація

Розуміння ціннісного концепту добро в контексті доктрини ноосфери

Дослідження присвячено вивченню однієї з найважливіших моральних та етичних ціннісних категорій - концепту ДОБРО, що виявляється у прагненні до здійснення добрих та корисних дій, гармонізації не тільки взаємовідносин між людьми, а й також з природою.

Метою дослідження є уявлення про дану морально-етичну категорію не тільки в постійно мінливому світі, но й під впливом наукової думки, розуму та переходу цивілізації в принципово нову систему - ноосферу. Систему, в якій ставиться завдання, під впливом наукової планетарної думки, створення нового типу людини - людини ноосфери: вільної, незалежної, з одного боку, і водночас добропорядної, доброчесної, із стійкими моральними чеснотами.

Представлено етимологічні версії імовірного походження імені концепту GOOD, а саме і.-є. корень *ghedh-, що мав першозначення “об'єднувати, бути об'єднаним”, п.-герм. форма *goda, що мала значення “відповідний, гідний, придатний”, від якої, зокрема, утворилося гот. g6|Ds “хороший”. Зазначені споріднені форми відображали ритуал, в якому надзвичайно важливим було ім'я Бога, до якого зверталися і який з'являвся в уяві тодішніх людей у вигляді достиглого врожаю як матеріальних дарів від нього. Прокоментовані етимологічні переходи визначають діахронне ядро, в якому філософські й релігійні поняття, як душа і дух сформувалися внаслідок їх сакралізації спершу в міфологічній сфері, а згодом і в монотеїчній і християнській.

Досліджено представлену у тлумачних лексикографічних і термінологічних джерелах семантичну структуру сучасної англійськомовної лексичної одиниці good, її спеціалізацію у філософських, етичних та релігійних сферах, актуалізацію морально-ціннісного компонента. Проведений компонентний аналіз дозволив виділити інтегральні семи «моральні» і «духовні якості», «певний стандарт», «розум», «здатність», «авторитетність», «вміння», «справжній» з архісемою «морально-духовна цінність».

Реалізацію формування ноосферної доктрини належить шукати у філософській, релігійній і, насамперед, морально-етичній сферах. Саме в тих сферах, де ключовою категорією і є поняття ДОБРО. Засадничі складники ноосферної доктрини- розум, наукові знання про сутність речей - здатні створити суспільство, в якому домінують гідність, гармонія, добро і процвітання.

Ключові слова: семантична структура, ціннісна категорія ДОБРО, наукове знання, ноосферна доктрина.

Introduction

Problem statement. In the modem world, one of the most important moral, ethical and value category is GOOD, which manifests itself in a deliberate and sincere desire to carry out valuable actions, establish good, humanize and harmonize relationships not only between people but also with nature, has received its new actualization. Moreover, with the increasing trends of globalization in the world, society is facing political, economic, environmental and, most importantly, moral crises and challenges.

Modern anthropo-oriented linguistics does not stand aside. In its broad interdisciplinary areas, it continues to explore the issue of revealing the mechanisms of the process of categorizing the phenomena of the surrounding reality by representatives of various societies, because of which specific categories are formed, the most problematic of which is the category of values. The concept Good is an essential component of the axioconceptosphere of any linguistic and cultural society.

Overview of resources and tools. The means of expressing the value category and its essence are covered in many foreign scientific works (U. Labov, N. Rescher [17], M. Rokeach [18], Sh. Schwartz [19]) and Ukrainian scientists (G. Prikhodko [8], T. Kosmeda [5], O. Haliman [9], Zh. Krasnobaeva- Chernaya [6]). Values, the world's value picture, are based on understanding them as a system of moral values and ethical norms concerning religious, legal and moral norms and codes. The anthropocentric principle of modern linguistics has brought scientists back to studying the "soul of language" (E. Karpilovska) through its reflection on the value system of each ethnic group.

Value conceptosphere (axioconceptosphere) is the result of the conceptualization of the most important meanings of the existence of an ethnic group and their expression in the form of concepts that are primitive for this community and its individual. It is essential to note the importance of the need to study the axiosphere in its relation to the noosphere (P. T de Chardin, V. V. Vernadskyi [1;2], E. Leroy, R. Jimerson, R. V. Vasko [20]) to understand modern transformations in the moral and ethical evolution of humanity as a whole, where the expansion of globalization, on the one hand, actualized the intercultural dialogue and, as a result, the processes of unification. On the other hand, it contributed to the aggravation of issues of the national consciousness of each nation.

This leads to the logical conclusion that values, and in particular the value category of good, as the most important result of a person's understanding of the world, are not only conceptual but also linguistic categories that can be identified by linguistic parameterization or diagnosis. This diagnosis is carried out using the diachronic method of studying the original value constant, encoded in the Indo-European and Proto-Germanic primary meanings of the name of the concept GOOD. On a synchronic level, we use component and distributive analysis, which helps to identify modern seme components, lexico-semantic variants of the name of the GOOD concept.

The purpose of the article is to reveal how the moral and ethical category GOOD is represented not just in a constantly changing world but also under the influence of scientific thought, reason and the transition of civilization to a new (different) state - the noosphere. Scientific thought and reason can harmonize society and give an impetus (activate) the moral qualities of society in this new worldview system. This study considers the concept GOOD in a cultural and ethical context to identify trends in interpreting this crucial concept. This involves studying the issue in diachronic and synchronic aspects of developing the semantic content of the name concept GOOD.

Results and discussions

Since the time of Ancient Greece, the conceptual value triad - “truth, good, beauty” - has gradually come into philosophical use. Nevertheless, at that time, it was not clearly understood and differentiated. In the Middle Ages, on the one hand, there was a reassessment of ancient classical values. On the other, together with the normative regulators of social relations, religious values begin to play a unique role, combining the values of Truth and good in the idea of God. In the Renaissance, Man was elevated to the rank of the highest value sanctioned by God himself. However, at that time, there were tendencies to separate arguments about moral values. However, the general cultural value dominants (such as GOOD) have not yet been realized scientifically, and the concept “value” has not acquired a philosophical categorical status.

The concept of Pascal was important for developing the problem of values in the XVII century. His philosophical reasoning defends the cognitive, emotional and evaluative essence of the nature of values. The scientist assumed that values are not abstract sentimentality or purely subjective fantasy but a unique ability of judgment (it is the cognitive nature of values). First, the philosopher was interested in moral values, then aesthetic, political and legal values. Pascal puts religious values above moral values, highlighting the main one among the latter-“holiness” [3, p. 241-243].

The age of Enlightenment actualized new values: reason, free will, practical use, science, and progress. Intensive development of interest in values is observed at the end of the XVIII century, thanks to the philosophical system of I. Kant. The ancient axiological triad “truth, good and beauty” is transformed into independent philosophical disciplines. Thus, the axiological concept of good is reflected in ethics, where the will strives for its goal - to be good. I. Kant connects the category of “value” with the concept of culture, the essence of which is the social value of a person as a whole”. The dominant feature for him is morality as the highest value of a person's character, which begins with duty [4, p. 237].

The concept GOOD within the mythological system did not have literal markers and names, and their original semantics was syncretic and cosmogonic.

As for the primary semantisation of the diachronic and value core of the concept GOOD, the etymology of the name shows that the ethnic constants, formed in their semantic structure, reflected the ideas of Indo-Europeans about unity, collective actions, primarily for communication with deities in order to gain patronage and as a result of the manifestation of good to those who turn to them during the ritual (these were the original value ideas about good). Later they were transformed into a symbol of spiritual and religious unity. That was a unity with the Absolute God, who is the “Truth”.

In the «Indogermanisches etymologisches Worterbuch» by Yu. Pokorny, the lexeme good has an Indo-European nature and reaches the root *ghedh-, which had the primary meaning “to unite, to be united”, “to bind” [16, p. 1068], whose semantic transitions can be traced in Old Indian gadhyas “someone who should be held tight”, gadhitas “compressed”, in Old English gadeling “friend”, (ge)gada “friend, husband”, geador, to gaddere “together”, gadrian, gad(e)rian “collect(s)”, in Gothic language gadiligs “cousin”, in German language Gatte “husband”, which are directly derived from Proto- Germanic *goda, which had the meaning “appropriate, worthy, suitable”, from which in Gothic language gops “good” was formed. concept good noospheric etymological moral

These versions should be presented as a cognitive and matrix formula, which reflects the idea of Indo- Europeans about the need for collective survival (unity for hunting, military operations, and above all, for harvesting and collective performance of the ritual sacrifice to God for the excellent weather, thanks to which a good harvest has matured on time. It is a way to comment on etymological transitions between genetically related forms: Indo-European *ghedh- and Proto-Germanic *goda.

Etymological versions of these genetically related forms: Indo-European *ghedh- and Proto-Germanic *goda reflect a ritual in which the name of God is significant. People turned to God, and in the people's imagination of that time, he appeared as a ripe harvest as a material gift.

The original meaning of the Indo-European root *ghu - to, *ghut- is “what is called”, as well as the Indo-European root *gheu(e)- “to call, beg”, and also “sacrificial animal offered to the deity” and their semantic transitions first to the Proto-Germanic form *guthan and later to Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch god, Old High German got, German Gott and their meaning “supreme being, deity”.

These and many other semantic transitions are argued in the “Etymological dictionary of Germanic languages” by V. V. Levitsky, and the researcher notes that the Indo-European root *ghuto- calls the deity as “one who is summoned in a ritual to perform a miracle”, but his Proto-Germanic derivative *guda - has already the direct meaning “God” [7].

These concise etymological versions of the origin of the name concept GOOD are necessary to reveal its diachronic core, where such moral, philosophical, ethical and religious concepts as soul and spirit were formed as a result of their sacralization first in the mythological sphere and later in the monotheistic and Christian.

In modern explanatory dictionaries «Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary», «Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English», «New Webster's dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language», «Oxford Learner's Dictionary», «Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus» the following main meanings of the register word good (as noun and adjective) are presented: 1. that which is morally right; 2. profit, benefit, advantage; 3. use, value, worth; 4. high quality or an acceptable standard; 5. pleasant; that you enjoy or want; 6. sensible, logical or strongly supporting what is being discussed; 7. showing or getting approval or respect; 8. able to do something well; 9. able to use something or deal with people; 10. morally right; behaving in a way that is morally right; something conforming to the moral order of the universe; 11. following strictly a set of rules or principles; 12. willing to help; kind to other people; 13. behaving well or politely; 14. healthy or strong [15; 12; 14, p. 411; 13].

Based on the noun-adjective semantic structure of the word good presented in dictionary sources, we can distinguish the following integral elements:

1) seme 'moral qualities' is represented by the following meanings “good”, “decent”, “virtuous”, “good people”, “well-mannered”;

2) seme 'spiritual qualities - meaning “righteousness”;

3) seme 'sufficient' - in the meaning “complete”, “completed”; in quantitative terms - “large”, “significant”, “at least not less than”;

4) seme 'which is characterized by certain qualities' - in the meaning “experienced”, “qualified”, “skilled”, “effective”;

5) seme 'pleasure' - in the meaning “pleasant”, “funny”, “interesting”;

6) seme 'certain standard/quality' - in the meaning “suitable”, “appropriate”, “high-quality”, “favorable”, “healthy”.

Analyzing the semantic shifts of the original meaning of the lexeme good (Indo - European language - Proto-Germanic language - Old English - Middle English - Modern English), we assume that seme `moral qualities' with its lexico-semantic variants “good”, “piety”, “good people”, “educated” is probably a semantic transition of the original meaning 1) “appropriate, worthy, suitable” Proto-Germanic forms *goda and later its semantic continuants “godlike (divine) man”, “merciful man”, recorded for the Old English form god. The latter meaning developed in 1200 and was transformed into the meaning of “educated” in the modern period.

The meaning “good”/“virtuous” is also the result of the semantic transitions “righteous”, “pious”, “virtuous”, and “virtue”.

The lexico-semantic variant “righteousness” is developed due to the narrowing of the meaning towards specialization and concretization in connection with its use in the religious and Christian sphere, actualizing in the semantic structure of the modern lexeme good a moral and ethical value component. This component is associated with the moral virtues of a person: the correct, appropriate and God-pleasing life of a person, the sources of which reach the original meaning of the “higher deity” of the Proto-Germanic form *guthan. This root has been preserved in the Old English form god, and at the same time, it has been specified in the lexico-semantic variant “the likeness of God”, “God-like (divine) person”, “righteous”, “pious”, “virtuous”. Based on further observations of the development of the semantic structure of the lexeme good, we make another important assumption that the analyzed lexico-semantic variant is directly related to the meaning “God”, which is reconstructed for the Proto-Germanic form *guota.

The religious component of the meanings “good, righteous, pious” concerning man and God has been updated in Old English and in relation to actions - since the mid-14th century.

Of course, the value category “good” was mental- ized in the minds of the British as a valuable moral and ethical concept, through the prism of which all other moral notions began to be interpreted. It is confirmed in the dictionary “Oxford Companion of Philosophy”, which abstractly connects “good” with everything that manifests moral virtue on the background of other good. According to such interpretation, we assume that the absolute good, taking into account its first meanings, is the value that fully satisfies the needs (vital, social and spiritual) and the fate of a person as the “highest good” (Summum bonum) [10, p. 348-349]. Moral and ethical (with a religious component) meanings of “kindness” / “mercy” / “virtue” of the value category “good” are also presented in the dictionary “Key terms in ethics” [11, p. 43].

The increased interest in studying the axiocon- ceptosphere in relation to the noosphere is caused by the need to understand modern transformations in humanity's moral and ethical evolution. Volodymyr Vernadskyi is a globally recognized founder of the modern concept of the biosphere and its separate section on the transition of the biosphere to the noosphere. He assumes that the crucial concept of creating a new geological force in the biosphere is scientific thought. Scientific thought and mind are the ability to create good and harmony, to find an ethically justified solution based on the knowledge gained by science about the nature of things. It should contribute to the satisfaction of modern social and natural trends that require equality of all people. The interests and well-being of all people are put in the foreground as a real planetary state task. The transition of the “Society - Nature” system from the biosphere to the noosphere requires a single scientific planetary thought that would cover all states [1; 2]. Volodymyr Vernadskyi writes that the widespread formation of scientific thought and scientific search is “the first basic prerequisite for the transition of the biosphere to the noosphere”. For the first time, the task of penetrating knowledge into all of humanity is set. The solution to this problem is aimed at understanding the exemplary life, in particular - good, decency, virtue, moral qualities, good relationships between people, as well as improving the well-being of the population.

This is a fundamentally new system of world perception of human development, which requires a new type of person - a person of the noosphere: free, independent, but at the same time good, decent, virtuous and respectable. That person has the virtues that form the basis of the concept of GOOD and the development of the semantic meaning of which was presented above in the diachronic-synchronic section.

Volodymyr Vernadskyi calls on scientists and all people to save humanity from self-destruction and end future wars. So, one of the prerequisites for entering the noosphere is the exclusion of war from the life of society. Therefore, the implementation of the problems of noospherization should be sought in the philosophical and, most importantly, moral and ethical spheres - precisely those areas where the critical component is the concept GOOD.

Conclusions

Volodymyr Vernadskyi noted that history is also the history of creating a new geological force in the biosphere, namely, scientific thought, which was a distance in the biosphere before [2, p. 32-33]. The growth of scientific knowledge is the basis that creates a new noosphere doctrine. The implementation of the formation of the noosphere doctrine should be sought in the philosophical, religious and, above all, moral and ethical spheres. In those areas, the essential category is the concept GOOD. The fundamental components of noosphere doctrine - reason, scientific knowledge about the essence of things - can create a society dominated by dignity, harmony, good and prosperity.

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